Uttaraa Center For Performing Arts is organizing the arangetram of Amruta Mungikar, a disciple of Geetha Ganesan, on the 18th June at 6:30pm, Ravindra Bharathi. B S Bhatia (Additional DGOF & Member Of Ordnance Factory Board), Bhagavatula Sethuram (Associate Professor, Dept. of Dance, Telugu University), Anjubabu (Director, Kathak Kalakshetra) and Chhalamayi Reddy (Principal, Sri Aurobindo International School) are the guests at the function.
Amruta Mungikar got initiated into Bharatanatyam at a very tender age at Andhra Balananda Sangam, and Later, she came under the tutelage of Geetha Ganesan, Founder Director of Uttaraa Center for Performing Arts (UCPA). She has been a part of all the major productions of UCPA and has also given a few solo performances, including at Maharashtra Mandali and Sri Aurobindo International School in Hyderabad. Her hour long solo performance at The All India Brahmin Mahaadhiveshan (Maharashtra) was witnessed by over 2 lakh spectators.
Amruta is a recipient of the scholarship awarded by the Centre For Cultural Resources & Training (CCRT), Govt. Of India. She has won several prizes in the ‘All India Music And Dance Competitions' conducted by Navya Nataka Samithi and Andhra Balananda Sangam.
A Class X student of Sri Aurobindo International School, Vidyanagar, Amruta is proficient in academics, too, and was designated the School Vice-Captain in 2008, and is currently the Cultural Secretary at the School Council. She tops her school in French and was second in the 5th National Cyber Olympiad 2005 conducted by the Science Olympiad Foundation. She learms vocal music under Mohan Krishna.
Uttaraa Center for Performing Arts was started in the year 1999, by Bharatanatyam dancer Geetha Ganesan & flute artiste Jayaprada Ramamurthy. The Institution trains students in Bharatanatyam and Carnatic flute. Aspects including Yoga, Pranayama (Breathing exercises), body kinetics, Theory Of Music & Theory Of Dance, Konakkol, Laya & Tala (rhythm), Swara gnana, performing skills and other intricacies are given special emphasis in imparting knowledge.
Uttaraa's dance troupe has has produced several multi-lingual dance presentations & Ekaharyas including Dasavatharam, Bala Mukundam and Sri Krishna Leelamrutam, and other items like Pushpanjali, Alarippu Varnam & Slokabhinayam. Uttaraa is the only full-fledged private institution imparting exclusive training in the Carnatic flute In Andhra Pradesh. The Institution's troupe has performed for the Dept. of Culture, Dept. of Tourism, ICCR & several other institutions in the country & abroad, including at Sri Lanka in the year 2006, with a team of 8 members.
Uttaraa is the first institution to choreograph a theme called Wind & Earth (Flute vs. Dance), in which a group of dancers performs rhythmic patterns in tandem with the synchronized musical phrases played by the group of flautists.
Geetha Ganesan, Founder Director of UCPA, has a Bachelor's degree in Maths (Hons.) and a Master's Degree in Performing Arts from S N School of Fine Arts, where she was under the guidance of Pasumarti Ramalinga Sastry, Nataraja Ramakrishna & P S R Appa Rao. She had her initial training in Bharatanatyam under P R Balakrishnan, and later, she has been under the guidance of V S Ramamurthy & Manjula Ramaswamy (Directors, Sri Rama Nataka Niketan). Geetha has also trained under Savitri Jagannatha Rao (Chennai) for Nrtta and Priyadarshini Govind (Chennai) for Abhinaya and C V Chandrasekhar and Kalanidhi Narayanan (Chennai).
Geetha has performed at various venues in India, including at The Music Academy (Chennai) and the Habitat World (New Delhi). She recently performed for the Kalasagaram annual festival and the South Indian Cultural Assocation Foundation Day Celebrations, with a solo performance followed by a group presentation ‘Rukmini Kalyanam', along with her disciples. She has also toured the USA, UAE, Norway, Spain and Sri Lanka.
Geetha is an A-Grade Artiste of Doordarshan. Some awards & titles to her credit are ‘Young Achiever's Award' (Public Relations Council of India), ‘Abhinaya Kala Ratna' (Kalarajyam), ‘Best Natyacharya' (Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai), and ‘Kala Tarangalu' award for Indian Classical Dances (Aradhana, Hyderabad). She has authored a book, ‘Basics Of Bharatanatyam' in April 2004, and has also been acclaimed for her singing skills - she is one of the very few Bharatanatyam teachers who does Nattuvangam, and also sings for the recitals of her students.
Please contact Geetha Ganesan at 2742-5480 for further details.